Ruby's Secret
by Hypedupash
Summary: She was busted and they both knew it" Another Ruby One-shot. DL Fluffiness. Please read and review.


**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, anything you don't is mine :)**

_A/N:_ First off i want to thank anyone who i didn't reply too for reviewing my previous fics, my email packed up and wouldn't let me link through to leave a reply, although i have now learnt i can reply through FF, so expect a review reply shortly :)

Secondly, you guys are all amazing and Wow... Just Wow...

Anyhow on with the rabble, cos it's late, and i have a head cold, although i'm not sure it's a bad thing since the muse is now working over time :) this fic comes from after watching the Fox and the Child.

And enjoy, and i would be most grateful if you could review and let me know you're thoughts?

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**Ruby's Secret**

They'd only been in Montana for two days and already Ruby was showing signs of loving the outdoors, she awoke with the sunrise and fell asleep at sun down, straight after breakfast she'd be at the door with her shoes on ready for someone to open the door and let her out, her grin making hearts melt as she smiled her way through the day.

Danny had been skeptical about letting her out to play on her own, I mean the Monroe ranch wasn't exactly the smallest piece of land, but he'd been assured that unless falling into mud could be dangerous then Ruby was completely safe and the land was all fenced off, mainly as a precaution to stop the animals roaming into town of their own accord.

They'd sat on the front porch the first day and watched her roam through the field, sitting down in the middle with the golden retriever Lindsay's parents owned hovering nearby while Ruby made daisy chains to wear as pieces of jewelry, a crown already graced her head; she truly was a little princess. Lindsay had proved that she could holler loud enough to Ruby to hear her, and Danny proved he could run fast enough to grab hold of her; he'd had to do that when Ruby thought it was funny to lie down in the long grass and scare the pants of her parents when they'd turned their heads for a few seconds.

After the second day they'd finally agreed that she was safe and having fun in the fields picking daisies and wildflowers, bringing them back to the house and demanded they be put in water before they died.

The second day she'd spent the day out by the far fence, her head just visible over the long grass, she'd barely moved all day, they hadn't been the least bit surprised when she asked them to wear the daisy bracelets, the daisy necklaces and crowns she'd made, they hadn't been too worried when she'd gone out the day after with a blanket, presumably to sit on.

She knew that if she wasn't allowed a puppy then she wouldn't be allowed to keep the injured fox cub, she'd spent all day yesterday waiting for 'Red's' parents to come and look after their baby, but they never did, the blood stained it's leg, she'd already shouted at Yellow for trying to sniff it, it was poorly, it did not need to be scared by a big old meanie like Yellow, so she'd sat there and sang to it, until it shuffled closer to her, nudging her leg with it's wet nose until she softly stroked the top of his head between his ears until it settled back down, if it was still there tomorrow then she was gonna be Red's mommy until he was better. She mistook the odd shiver of pain from the fox as shivers from the cold, so she knew she'd need her blanket, but she couldn't give her secret up, because she didn't want her daddy getting mad.

Carefully she lifted Red onto the blanket, whispering that everything was going to be OK now that his new mommy had him, she'd have to ask for a band aid and pretend it was for her dolly or something so no one would get suspicious of her actions.

Wrapping the fox cub up just like a baby, she carefully lifted him up into her arms and walked steadily back to the house her grandparents owned.

Somehow she had managed to slip indoors undetected, slowly she climbed the stairs to her mother's old bedroom, and laying the fox down on the bed she ran and closed the door for added privacy. Clearing out the dolls crib her mother once playing with she carried the fox over and laid it down before rearranging the blanket, she'd somehow sneak some of her supper upstairs for the baby fox, she just hoped he liked whatever they were having. Heavy footsteps on the stairs told her she was about to be busted, running for the door, she pulled it open and jumped out into the hallway closing the door behind her, a small grin lit her face, little did she know her actions highlighted that she was doing something she shouldn't be doing.

"Hi Ruby" Danny grinned, his arms folded across her chest, he'd watched her from afar in the fields, heavens knew how she'd managed to slip past her grandparents and her mother un noticed, she was cunning he'd give her that, then again she had Monroe-Messer blood running through her, they were in for a world of adventures with their kids.

"Hi Daddy" she grinned, risking a glance at the door, checking it was closed behind her so he couldn't see anything.

"What are you hiding?" he asked with a knowing look, she was busted and they both knew it.

"Nothing" she laughed, her arms reached out, maybe if she hugged him first he wouldn't be so mad at her later.

Danny laughed as he lifted her "So I don't suppose Daddy's gonna find a baby animal in that room at all is he?" he smirked softly, kissing her nose, they'd only disagreed on a puppy because it wouldn't be fair to the animal if it was cooped up in the apartment most of the day, now a goldfish that was a deal he could agree on.

"It's poorly" she mumbled into his shoulder, before pulling back and giving her father her best perfected puppy dog look.

"How about we take it to Uncle Timmy?" Danny asked as he lifted the fox cub nervously, anticipating sharp teeth piercing the skin of his hand, "he's an animal doctor; he can make it all better again"

Reluctantly Ruby nodded, it had taken a good five minutes of Danny convincing Ruby that the baby fox needed to be outside all the time, but if she was a good girl and looked closely enough she'd see the fox when it was better and all grown up with it's own babies.

Somehow he managed to climb downstairs, Ruby in one arm, the fox in the other, still mindful and wary of being bitten and attacked by the sedate animal that Ruby had wrapped up like a baby.

"Can I be an animal doctor?" Ruby asked when Lindsay announced her brother was on his way down to take the fox cub back up to the surgery for a proper examination.

Lindsay smiled, they'd already gone through the phases of Ruby wanting to be a princess, an astronaut, a zoo keeper, working with the circus and before they'd hit Montana an airplane, and as parent would they both nodded and assured her she could be whatever she wanted to be.

As it had turned out, the fox had been caught on barb wire from the neighboring ranch, only a few miles from the fox's den, a few days under Ruby's watchful eye, the fox was up and about, getting under everyone's feet, but their little girl was happy until it came to releasing the animal back into the wild, close to it's own home and family, she'd cried and refused to let Danny or Lindsay set her on the ground, although she wasted no time in telling the other foxes that they were mean for letting their baby get hurt.

Her saddened disposition changed when Lindsay promised her two goldfish when they got home, but she had to promise to feed and look after them. They both knew that she would, after seeing her care for the fox for the last few days; she'd look after whatever animal they'd give her.

"I don't want to be an animal doctor" Ruby announced as they settled back into the seats on the flight home "it's so sad, and I don't like being sad" she continued "I want to be a mommy, like mommy" she turned to look at her mother who was smiling down on her "Mommy is happy" she laughed when they tickled her "I want to marry mommy and be happy" she declared.

"What about daddy?" Danny pouted "We can't both be married to mommy" he told her "how about you be happy being Daddy's little girl for the next thirty years or so, how about that?"

Ruby seemed to think about it for a few minutes before deciding that she was a big girl and she'd be daddy's big girl until she was bigger.

They could only laugh as they agreed.

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So what do you think?


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